Tank Assembly problems of the 2003 Mercedes Benz SL500

Fuel tank baffle failure 2003 sl 500 mbz.

2003 Sl500 Mercedes Benz. Consumer states noise inside gas tank when vehicle is moving.

I have a 2003 Sl500 mercedes . I hear either a free dangling object behind the seats or perhaps a noise from an object in the gas tank (not sure where the tank is). This clanging noise is heard when car is shook. Even a light nudge of the car will cause it to clank. Like a dangling object, hard acceleration will cause the noise to go away but when the car stops accelerating a clanging noise is heard. The car is running perfectly. This may have started happening while my car was parked overnight seeing as though it would have been hard to miss it when parking the night before. I can not rule out vandalism of some sort but I am having a hard time seeing how this could be the case. Mercedes dealer states that there is an anchor that holds the gas tank in place and it has broken, that's why the I get the clanging noise!! striking the rear wall of the interior compartment seems to make a noise consistent with the clanging. Is this suppose to happen to car of this caliber? the dealer wants to charge $3000.

The contact owns a 2003 Mercedes Benz Sl500. While driving at any speed, the contact heard a rattling noise coming from the trunk. He took the vehicle to the dealer and was informed that the baffles in the gas tank failed, which caused the rattling in the gas tank. The gas tank needs to be replaced; however, the dealer refuses to take responsibility for the repair. Through online research, the contact discovered numerous complaints for the same failure. He believes a recall should be issued. The current and failure mileages were 65,000.

2003 Mercedes Benz Sl500 - baffle breaks free within gas tank seemingly causing a safety hazard. Mercedes does not replace the tank for free in all cases. Gas tank needed replaced.

My mercedes 2003 Sl500 developed banging noise in the gas tank, in January 2010 , having about 18,000 miles, prompting me to call the dealer. I was told that the baffle broke off and couldn't be fixed, advising me to replace the tank for $2,500. I argued that it was an obvious manufacturing defect considering the low miles and requested a free tank replacement, but I was refused on the grounds that the warranty expired. I couldn't believe what I heard, did some research and discovered that early models in 2003 and 2004, had similar tank problems and were replaced with a better design later. But, I was not informed about it. Furthermore, I found out that many other owners from that time had the same problem as I did. I waited for a while to see if mercedes corporation would recall the early models, kept the gas tank full to avoid the annoying noise (the broken baffle cannot float and bang when the tank is full) and when I got convinced that mercedes would not do anything for the victims I decided to file this complaint. It is a shame that a manufacturer wouldn't want to correct their own mistakes, considering a $100,000 price tag that I paid. What happened to that german quality and ethics? they certainly lost this customer for good.